Less is more

One of the important things I learned by visiting Healthwise is that sometimes less is more please . I used to think that if you had lots and lots of content , this proved you were better. Because medicine is such a vast field, and because patients want information , it’s important to be comprehensive and encyclopedic and make sure you cover everything.

Unfortunately, people are not very keen to read a lot about their health problems. Reading educational content not the same as reading a novel. When people are sick or ill , they are confused , and they basically want concise bits of information which are relevant to their needs. Rather than drowning users by providing them with too much information, which leaves them more confused than ever, Healthwise is repackaging its content .

By chunking up its content into small paragraphs, each of which is extremely well and tagged with keywords and metadata , it's possible for the user to retrieve exactly what information is relevant to her needs . This means that the information which is provided is very specific. This can be done because you know a lot about the user ; and because the information has been properly tagged , so that it's possible to match the needs of the user very specifically. This is a smart approach and works very well. This is especially true today , when people have short attention spans , and access information on their smartphones. The last thing they want to do it to scroll to read to tons of content.

Healthwise is also reinventing itself. Because users find video far more engaging and memorable than the written word, they are creating an extensive library of 2 minutes video modules ! By adapting its contents to the needs of users, and staying uptodate with the latest technology platforms, Healthwise shows that its respects its users.